Guadalajara municipal officials this week said they anticipated 350,000 visitors, while Zapopan authorities put their expected numbers even higher, at half a million.
Some 250 police officers have been assigned to cemeteries in the Guadalajara municipality district, with 200 firefighters and 25 Green Cross medics on standby. Similar measures will be put in place in Zapopan, Tonala, Tlaquepaque and Tlajomulco.
Cemeteries in the metropolitan area will open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
For security reasons, visitors clearly under the influence of alcohol will be refused entry. While families may bring food and drink into the cemeteries, pets and sound equipment are banned. As has been the customs for many years, mariachis and “trios” are welcome to enter and play at grave sites. No one will be permitted to enter with a weapon of any kind, authorities stress. (Firing bullets into the air at the graves of relatives on the Day of the Dead was not an uncommon practice until recently.)
Zapopan authorities have warned families to take precautions in cemeteries where some graves may be in danger of collapse. Cemetery staff have noted more than 700 graves in precarious condition in the weeks leading up to Day of the Dead and marked them accordingly with special tape. Sitting on graves is not recommended, they say.
Representatives from the Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) will be checking flower and food vendors outside cemeteries for cases of price gouging.